Canadian accused in Iraq bombing extradited to the U.S.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Canadian man has been extradited to the United States to face federal terrorism charges that he helped orchestrate the April 2009 truck bombing of a U.S. base in Mosul, Iraq, that killed five soldiers, U.S. authorities announced on Friday.

Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, 36, is expected to make his initial court appearance in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday to answer charges of murder, conspiring to kill Americans abroad and providing material support to terrorists. If convicted, Isa faces life in prison.

Isa, who was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2011, had unsuccessfully challenged his extradition to the United States. He is also known as Sayfildin Tahir Sharif.

Prosecutors accused Isa of working with a militant network that conducted multiple suicide bombings against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, including a truck bombing on April 10, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Marez.

“Today’s extradition demonstrates to those who orchestrate violence against our citizens and our soldiers that there is no corner of the globe from which they can hide from the long reach of the law,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement.

Chase Scolnick, a lawyer with the Federal Defenders of New York who is representing Isa, declined to comment.